Jack's Reef — Jack's Reef
Jack's Reef Daderot, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (US)

Projectile point · Late Woodland

Jack's Reef

500–1000 CE, Woodland (Eastern)

The Jack's Reef point is a thin, beautifully flaked Late Woodland arrowpoint of the Northeast and Midwest, about 500 to 1,000 CE, named after a site in New York. It is among the earliest true arrowpoints in the East and comes in pentagonal and corner-notched forms. Fine examples are collected for their workmanship.

ObjectProjectile point
Dates500–1000 CE
PeriodLate Woodland
CulturesWoodland (Eastern)
RegionsNorth America — Eastern Woodlands

Diagnostic traits

Thin, broad pentagonal or corner-notched arrow point with sharp barbs; very fine flaking.

Identification

Jack's Reef is thin and broad with sharp barbs and fine flaking in a pentagonal or corner-notched outline, unlike Levanna, which is triangular, and Raccoon Notched, which is narrower. Its thinness is diagnostic. Upper Mercer and Onondaga cherts are typical.

Reproductions and fakes

Jack's Reef points are reproduced because of their elegance; fakes are seldom as thin. Look for patina and light edge wear.

Elsewhere

Cite this article

Stratum Strata. "Jack's Reef" (Artifact type). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/types/jack-s-reef. Accessed 2026-09-21.

@misc{stratum-jack-s-reef,
  title        = {Jack's Reef},
  author       = {{Stratum Strata}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/types/jack-s-reef}},
  year         = {2026},
  note         = {Artifact type article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, wikidata, commons. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
}

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